Instructional technology helped to sustain learning in virtual environments when the novel coronavirus COVID-19 locked down campuses. This article is the success story of a large, public university in the southern United States, that smoothly transitioned into abrupt online learning with central support from instructional technologists. When…

The factors that influence and impact graduate students in the context of their career decision-making within an instructional design graduate program remain unexplored. This mixed methods study captured actual career-related difficulties of graduate instructional design students through a conceptual framework based on Bandura (1986) and Lent et…

In this paper we discuss social creativity in a particular professional context, that of education. We studied how collaborative design of educational digital resources inspired social creativity and the influencing factors during this collaboration amongst a group of designers made up of mathematics teachers, teacher educators and researchers…

This study examines the role relationships have in learning among graduate students during a short-term cross-cultural field study in Italy. During group and personal reflections, students expressed the value of relationships and engagement, and how they perceived these experiences to influence their learning. Using relational learning and…

This study investigates the validity and instructional value of a rubric developed to evaluate the quality of online courses offered at a midsized public university. This rubric is adapted from an online course quality rubric widely used in higher education, the Quality Matters rubric. We first examine the reliability and preliminary construct…

Preservice teachers' beliefs and attitudes impact the likelihood they will integrate technology in their future teaching. Consequently teacher preparation programs should provide courses designed to enhance preservice teachers' attitudes and beliefs towards technology use in the classroom. However, many programs instead focusing solely on…

When designing an instructional tool and using it in pedagogical activities, it is essential that designers and users understand what pedagogical affordances and constraints the tool provides to support its successful integration into targeted pedagogical activities. Toward this end, we developed "Pedagogical Affordance Analysis (PAA)."…

Purpose: In response to the evolving COVID-19 pandemic, many universities have transitioned to online instruction. With learning promising to be online, at least in part, for the near future, instructors may be thinking of providing online collaborative learning opportunities to their students who are increasingly isolated from their peers because…

The Region 5 Comprehensive Center worked in partnership with the Tennessee Department of Education to develop a professional learning framework and toolkit. Although they were developed to meet the needs of education staff in Tennessee, the guidance can benefit other state education stakeholders in their efforts to ensure all professional learning…

Simulation offers unique affordances over traditional training (e.g., remote access, mastery learning experiences, immediate feedback) relevant to teacher training in behavior management. This study describes a user-based evaluation of Interactive Virtual Training for Teachers (IVT-T). The study involved observing representative users (seven…

Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines are becoming increasingly important in the 21st century workforce, but there is currently a shortage of STEM professionals around the world. Even when students graduate with STEM degrees, many lack basic interpersonal skills such as communication and problem solving that would…

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive mixed methods research study was to determine online learners' perceptions of nationally-recognized and research-based online course design standards and how those standards relate to their learning outcomes. The study utilized a Likert scale survey to collect quantitative data on students' perceptions…

A major aim of science education reform documents (Achieve, 2013) is for K-12 students to engage in scientific practices to facilitate a better understanding of the processes and the aspects of doing science (Bybee, 2014). In this design case we present the design of a teaching unit on a socio-scientific issue (SSI) that can potentially engage…

This design case discusses the complex collaborative design reasoning processes involved in developing an online interactive learning tool for learners of all ages to explore and understand the role of flagellate plants in our society. The learning tool consists of a main website (the "Voyager") and an interactive, dynamic map of the…

Postsecondary instructors routinely face novel and complex challenges in physical classrooms and informal learning spaces. Instructors often bring these challenges, along with creative and aspirational solutions, to the attention of centers for teaching and learning (CFTLs). Issues span a wide range of topics including blogs, clickers, immersive…